I-75 shutdown caused by acid tanker accident thought to have affected more than 38,800 vehicles

BIRCH RUN, MI — After 18 hours of detours and delays, more than 38,800 vehicles may have been affected by the Interstate 75 closure between Birch Run and Clio caused by an April 21 rollover accident involving a tanker truck carrying acrylic acid.

Northbound I-75 was closed for nearly 18 hours as emergency crews responded to the scene and worked to clean up acid that leaked out of the tanker as a result of the truck overturning. The southbound section of I-75 was closed for approximately 14 hours as a precautionary measure, said MDOT Bay Region spokeswoman Anita Richardson.

“It was closed down as a precaution, so that they could transfer the material from one tanker to another without putting the public in danger,” Richardson said of the decision to shut down the southbound lanes.

Assuming that an average amount of traffic traveled that stretch of highway and that it was evenly divided between northbound and southbound lanes, 21,825 northbound vehicles and 16,975 southbound vehicles would have been affected by the closures.

Also affected by accident were nearby Birch Run Premium Outlets and Cinema Hollywood, which losed and evacuated about 6:30 p.m. April 21. Both were reopened for business April 22.